For those who have brought alcohol on board with the intent of consuming it during their cruise, things have changed in the policy department of RCI. That practice may become a thing of the past. The new 2007-08 brochures still state:

Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages onboard for consumption or any other use. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports-of-call or from Shops On Board will be stored by the ship and delivered to guest staterooms on the last day of the sailing.

NEW to the brochure and website alcohol policy: Security may inspect containers (water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc.) and will dispose of containers holding alcohol. Guests who violate any alcohol policies, (over consume, provide alcohol to people under age 21, demonstrate irresponsible behavior, or attempt to conceal alcoholic items at security and or luggage check points or any other time), may be disembarked or not allowed to board, at their own expense, in accordance with our Guest Vacation Policys. Guests under the age of 21 will not have alcohol returned to them.

This is new policy language to RCI, and I'm sure will be a trend to other cruiselines as well. Anyway, as a wise person once said, "you pays your money, you takes your chances"...

We wanted to have wine in our cabin on Enchantment for my husband's birthday and got around the "no alcohol on board" problem by ordering a gift basket from Just Because of You. Shelley was very easy to work with and made sure to include everything we needed such as wine glasses and a corkscrew. The basket itself was beautifully wrapped and was delivered to our cabin immediately after the muster drill. I found the cost very reasonable and I would highly recommend using this company if you want to send a Bon Voyage gift. The e-mail address is JustBecauseCorp@aol.com

It seems that most of the people that successfully carried (or smuggled) wine or hard liquor onboard did so prior to Royal Caribbean's alleged smackdown policy. For example, all of "Dave the Wave's" pictures have a 2005 date stamp. Has anyone successfully circumvented the official policy SINCE July 28, 2006? Also, has anyone been caught attempting to do so? (And, do they really want to fess up in this public forum? )

Me personally, I've paid too much money to even risk not being allowed to board because of their policy. That's MHO of course! I'm ordering chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne for in-room delivery on embarkation day!

Addendum: 11/8/06 - Just moments after posting this, I noticed in the photo gallery that "Dave The Wave" posted pictures of his portable bar setup with very recent date stamps! So, it looks like the policy, though strongly worded, is weakly enforced!

Jeff

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Cruise History:
Voyager of the Seas: October 2004
Adventure of the Seas: December 2006
Anthem of the Seas: October 2016

Well done Dave. ? for you though. Do you make any attempt to conceal, or do you just throw your stuff in a bag (or do you roll on your cooler)? I read somewhere that typically, lines will confiscate if you try to hide it and being up front and not trying to bring on too much pays off. I fully intend to utilize the bars to the fullest extent (without becoming obnoxious of course), but would like to have a pre-dinner cocktail or a warm-up drink before heading out to the club at night. Advice?

Note to folks they also make collapsable coolers that do a fair job of insulating stuff. I think I got mine from Sams. It's been added to the "to bring" list. Ive given up on finding a fridge in a cabin that will chill stuff to a decent consuption temp.

I think most folks will be alright if some discretion is used ie transfering the necture of the Gods to non-booze looking non-glass containers if possible.

Come on folks have some inginuity. America was built on it. This stuff is covered in College Football Spectating 101. If you snoozed through that class find a college age type fellow and Im sure that they will provide some constructive input in exchange for beer.